Mel Carnahan on Environment

Supports pollution prevention and CO2 reduction

Gov. Mel Carnahan today honored winners of the Third Annual Governor’s Pollution Prevention Award. “These seven companies have exhibited an outstanding commitment to improving Missouri’s environmental and public health,” Carnahan said. [One award went
for an] innovative procedure which utilizes a natural process to reduce the use of non-renewable fossil fuels and air emissions while effectively pretreating the wastewater, reducing carbon dioxide released into the air by 75 percent.

Source: Press Release, “Pollution Prevention Award”
Jul 31, 1996

Replace MTBE in gasoline with cleaner ethanol.

Carnahan signed the Midwestern Governors' Conference resolution:

WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act requires the use of an oxygenate in reformulated gasoline used in non-attainment areas; and

WHEREAS, This requirement has resulted in important air quality benefits to our nation; and

WHEREAS, The decision of petroleum refiners to use methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) rather than clean, renewable ethanol has resulted in serious degradation of groundwater in some regions; and

WHEREAS, Eliminating the oxygenate requirement is not necessary to allow states to ban MTBE, and would harm efforts to achieve the air quality goals in the Clean Air Act; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture has determined that ethanol can replace MTBE in reformulated gasoline nationwide within three years, without increases in price or supply disruption; and

WHEREAS, The use of ethanol not only reduces toxins and improves air quality, it reduces America’s dependence on imported petroleum and thereby reduces our nation’s trade deficit by some $12 billion over the next ten years, increases farm income by an estimated $1 billion annually, and reduces farm program costs by creating important new markets for grain; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Midwestern Governors’ Conference encourages Congress to maintain its commitment to the federal Clean Air Act by retaining the oxygenate requirement of the reformulated gasoline program and by implementing standards that ensure the opportunity for the use of ethanol blended gasoline in any reformulated gasoline program, thereby preserving the natural environment, protecting the public health and reducing the nation’s dependence upon foreign petroleum.

Source: Resolution of Midwestern Governors' Conf. on Ethanol 00-MGC1 on May 25, 2000

More EPA flexibility on interstate ozone.

Carnahan signed the Midwestern Governors' Conference resolution:

WHEREAS, the proposed action by EPA in November 1997 aimed at reducing the interstate transport of ozone appears to take a one-size-fits-all approach for determining the needed level of nitrogen oxide emission reductions in Midwestern states that goes beyond our contribution to poor air quality outside the Midwest; and

WHEREAS, the proposed action by EPA also calls for a level of emission reductions that cannot be practically achieved in the proposed timeframe; and

WHEREAS, the EPA will not have the scientific information sufficient to determine the ultimate appropriate level of nitrogen oxide emission reductions needed to assist in solving the nation’s ozone public health problems by September 1998, the scheduled date for finalizing its reduction plan; and

RESOLVED, that the Midwestern Governors’ Conference believes that the EPA should fully consider options to the EPA’s nitrogen oxide reduction plan that are presented
by individual statesand groups of states which make substantial progress in solving the clean air problems in the short-term and assure that the final control actions in the longer-term are cost-effective, achievable, based on good science and represent sound public policy; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Midwestern Governors’ Conference believes that, with respect to regional haze in the Midwest and East, the EPA should allow the substantial programs currently underway to address public health issues and acid rain to progress and evaluate their effectiveness before determining any further reductions needed to continue to improve regional haze; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Midwestern Governors’ Conference believes that EPA should work cooperatively with all states and affected interests to craft clean air plans for interstate transport and regional haze that are in the best interest of all Americans.

Source: Resolution of Midwestern Governors' Conf. on Clean Air 98-MGC2 on May 12, 1998